1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to weatherseals and more particularly to weatherseals for doors and windows that are provided to builders or homeowners in unpainted condition and painted after installation.
2. Description of Related Art
Foam weather stripping has been, and still is applied around windows and doors. Typically this is a complex geometric shape manufactured in large quantities in continuous lengths or cut lengths for this purpose. The typical standard for foam-filled weather stripping is a geometric profile that is inserted into a door or window kerf and also at times being applied using adhesive tape.
Conventional door and window weatherseals are generally manufactured separately from the doors and windows and are installed during assembly. The weatherseals are often positioned at locations on the doors and windows that are adjacent to areas that must be painted after installation to match the house or building in which the doors or windows are installed. While it is possible to appropriately mask the weatherseal adjacent to the areas to be painted with masking tape or the like, this is not always done and paint may be inadvertently applied to the weatherseals. The paint may be difficult or impossible to remove and is at least unsightly. In some instances, the paint can interfere with the operation of the weatherseal because it destroys the sealing surface or reduces the efficacy of the sealing surface that engages the door or window.
In the past, at least with regard to an extruded weatherseal, one approach to this problem has been to co-extrude a removable protective layer of material on to the weatherseal at the time of manufacture. The extruded layer could be left in place up through the time the door or window was painted and thereafter removed providing a clean weatherseal sealing surface. A disadvantage of this approach has been that the co-extruded material had a coefficient of thermal expansion that is at least somewhat different from the underlying extruded material and consequently if the weatherseal was stored for an appreciable length of time prior to installation, expansion or shrinkage of the weatherseal material and the protective layer would cause the weatherseal to bow. In some cases, where the storage time was long enough, the bow would induce a permanent set in the weatherseal which made it difficult to install. Moreover, even the most effective co-extrusions were somewhat difficult to remove and left a residue on the weatherseal surface.
Foam based weatherseals having a foam core surrounded by a layer of plastic material, such as polyethylene, forming the sealing surface cannot be protected with a co-extruded seal of the type heretofore used. In addition, it is desirable to eliminate some of the disadvantages of the known protective layer such as the unequal coefficients of expansion, the undesirable set, and the residue left after the protective layer is removed. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a weatherseal, especially a foam core weatherseal having a polyethylene layer wrapped around the foam core, that includes a protective layer applied at the time of manufacture and easily removed after installation and painting that does not cause the weatherseal to bow, leaves no undesirable residue, and is easy and inexpensive to apply and remove.